HUNDREDS of sand lizards are being released at sites across England and Wales in an attempt to bring back the UK’s rarest lizard to areas where it has disappeared.

The reintroductions at five sites in mid Wales, Surrey and Dorset and are part of efforts to “turn back the clock on amphibian and reptile declines” in Britain, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation said.

The reintroductions at five sites in mid Wales, Surrey and Dorset and are part of efforts to “turn back the clock on amphibian and reptile declines” in Britain, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation said.

Native frogs toads, newts, lizards and snakes have been hit by loss of their habitats, often as a result of changes to agriculture, planting of forests and building.

The first release of around 80 two inch-long baby lizards, which have been reared in special hatcheries, will take place at a National Trust nature reserve in Surrey today, the newly formed conservation group said.

Almost 400 young sand lizards will be released over the next fortnight.

The sand lizard was once a common sight on heathland across parts of England and Wales, but widespread destruction of its heath and sand dune habitats led to extinctions at many sites.

According to Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, the lizard was lost altogether from a number of counties including Kent, Sussex, Cornwall, Cheshire and north and west Wales, while more than 90% of suitable habitat has vanished from Surrey, Merseyside and Dorset.